5 Stunning Facts About Sanitation in India You Probably Didn't Know

Here's one that didn't make our list: In India, more people own cell phones than have access to a latrine.

Share

Public Defecation

Half of India’s 1.2 billion people do not have access to a toilet. This means more than 600 million people are left with no choice but to practice open defecation (yep, that’s doing one’s business in streets and fields).

Unwashed Hands

As most kindergartners have been taught, washing your hands with soap prevents the spread of germs. But owing to a paucity of awareness among Indians, only 53 percent wash their hands after defecation, 38 percent wash before eating, and 30 percent wash before preparing food.

The Ganges River

Every 60 seconds, 1.1 million liters of raw sewage find their way into the 1,560-mile Ganges River, a waterway considered holy by Hindus. The river plays a significant part in the lives of locals: As children frolic in the muck, another 400 million adults earn income through the river—from clothes washers to funeral home workers who dispose human ashes in it.

Gender Injustice

Toilet access has become a civic issue in the South Asian nation. A 2009 study found that in the national capital, New Delhi, 1,534 public toilets serve men. How about women? Only 132. The New York Times reports that females living in villages often go in groups at dawn to avoid taunting and sexual assault.

A Green Thumb for the Great Indoors: 5 Tips for Gardening Inside

From fewer trips to the grocery store to better health, bringing the green outdoors inside has many benefits. But there’s a thin line between an indoor oasis and a soiled grave of shriveled leaves—especially for those who lack the green thumb. These basic tips can help get you started.

0 of 0

The toilet. That porcelain bowl that magically whisks our unwanted wastes so far away. It’s hard to fathom that some 40 percent of the world doesn’t have access to this basic necessity. India, in particular, constantly suffers from poor health conditions due to a lack of proper toilet facilities. Sanitation may be a less-than-elegant subject, but it’s an important one. So mull over these facts next time you’re enjoying this underappreciated seat in the house.

Get More

Takepart’s Most Popular

From The Web

Comments ()

about takepart

TakePart is the digital news and lifestyle magazine from Participant Media, the company behind such acclaimed documentaries as CITIZENFOUR, An Inconvenient Truth, and Food, Inc. and feature films including Lincoln and Spotlight.